The LMU men's soccer team opens West Coast Conference play this week, traveling to Saint Mary's and Santa Clara.

LOS ANGELES - West Coast Conference action begins this week as the Lions head back on the road, traveling to 2011 league champ Saint Mary's on Friday, Sept. 28 at 4 p.m. followed by a 2 p.m. kick off at Santa Clara on Sunday, Sept. 30.

LIONS' LAST LINE
Last week the Lions (2-5-1) ventured away from Sullivan Field for the first time this season, and came away with a split, including a 2-1 overtime win at Stanford... Eric Brunter scored his first career goal in the 13th minute and Craig Nitti headed in the game-winner off a free kick from Jack McCracken in the sixth minute of overtime... Paul Blanchette had a season-high eight saves as he earned his first collegiate victory... Two days later at Cal, a Bears' goal in the eighth minute stood for the balance of the match as LMU fell, 1-0...

INSIDE THE LIONS
Freshman Pedro Velazquez and sophomore Craig Nitti have each scored twice for LMU, including one game-winning goal apiece... Eric Brunter has also scored once while Sean Sears and Jack McCracken have each supplied one assist... In goal, redshirt junior Billy Thompson earned the start in the first three games, making 10 saves and posting a 1.55 GAA... Vince Paldino earned his first start of the year against Cal State Fullerton (Sept. 7), picking up the win while making three saves... Paul Blanchette made his first collegiate appearance at the end of the CSUF game, and then earned his first start against Tulsa... The freshman has now appeared in the last five games, making 19 saves and holding a 1.40 GAA... The Lions have been outscored 11-5 overall in their eight matches thus far... The 31-member side features 12 freshmen, 12 sophomores, four juniors and three seniors... Twenty-two different players have earned at least one start through eight games... Mitch Boland and Jack McCracken are the lone players to start all eight games... Head Coach Paul Krumpe is in his 15th year at the helm of the Lion program... The Lions were picked to finish fourth in the 2012 WCC Preseason Poll... LMU went 7-12-1 overall and 5-6-1 in the WCC, good for fifth place, in 2011...

Lions' Unbeaten Streak Extends to Four Straight Games
For the second consecutive meeting, the LMU and Santa Clara men's soccer teams found themselves in a scoreless tie through 90 minutes of play. But this time around, neither team struck for the game-winning golden goal as the WCC match-up at Buck Shaw Stadium ended in a 0-0 draw Friday night.

HEAD-TO-HEAD VS. THE GAELS
The Lions are 13-19-2 all-time against Saint Mary's... That mark includes a 4-11-0 record in Moraga... After LMU swept the home-and-home series in 2010, the Gaels returned the favor one year ago, edging the Lions 1-0 in both meetings... That includes last year's season-finale when SMC's Agustin Cazarez scored the game's lone goal in the fifth minute...

THE SAINT MARY'S GAELS
Saint Mary's went 4-1-2 in non-conference play and is riding a three-game win streak headed into Friday's WCC opener against LMU... The Gaels' lone loss was a 1-0 final against then No. 3 Creighton... They have since earned three consecutive shutouts, most recently a 2-0 win at UC Davis... Geradro Mendoza has two goals while five other players have scored once... In goal Andre Rawls has four shutouts and allowed just three goals (0.40 GAA) while making 25 saves...

HEAD-TO-HEAD VS. THE BRONCOS
The Lions are 9-22-6 all-time against Santa Clara, including a 2-12-4 mark on the road... The teams have battled to five double-overtime ties in their last eight meetings and played into extra time in six of those last eight matches... In 2011, the Lions picked up four points against the Broncos, claiming a 1-0 overtime victory at Sullivan Field on a John McFarlin game-winning header then playing to a scoreless draw at Santa Clara...

THE SANTA CLARA BRONCOS
The Broncos are 3-4-0 on the year and are riding a two-game win streak to enter WCC play... The Broncos host San Diego on Friday before facing LMU on Sunday... Their most recent results include a 2-1 win at Stanford and a 2-0 shutout of NJIT... Erik Hurtado leads the Broncos with five goals and two assists... Ryan Masch has found the back of the net three times while Carlos Montes has a pair of goals and three assists... Larry Jackson has started six games in goal, making 26 saves and holding a 1.17 GAA...

COMING UP NEXT
The Lions return to Sullivan Field for a three-game WCC homestand. They kick things off Friday, Oct. 5, hosting the Gonzaga Bulldogs, followed by a Sunday, Oct. 7 meeting with Portland. Both games are schedule to begin at 3 p.m.

TEAMLMU
TeamLMU brings Lion fans and alums, LMU partners and student-athletes together as one, creating an atmosphere that helps build the Lions into champions. Each week that LMU hosts an event throughout the 2012-13 year, there will be at least one highlighted TeamLMU Event of the Week which will include special promotions, giveaways and opportunities to be part of the team. For more information on TEAM LMU, go online at LMULions.com/school-bio/teamlmu/html.

WELLS FARGO PCH CUP
Separated by 19.1 miles of scenic coastline, longtime cross-town adversaries Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine have come together in an effort to boost their decades-long rivalry with the creation of the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) Challenge...the series, which is in its fourth year, serves as an annual scorecard for the NCAA-sponsored athletic contests between the Lions and Waves, and challenges each institution to rise above the other within the West Coast Conference...any head-to-head competition, including matches in the post-season and tournaments throughout the year, will be counted toward the scoring and added to the scorecard as they occur...for the sports in which the two teams do not meet head-to-head, the teams will battle for points that will be awarded on the basis of overall finish at their respective post-season championships...Pepperdine has won the challenge in each of the first three seasons...to learn more about the PCH Challenge and view the current scorecard, please visit: http://www.lmulions.com/trads/PCH-Cup.html.

SEASON TICKET SCARF
This season, LMU is offering the Season Ticket Scarf Pack for season access to all home preseason and regular season events for men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, men's and women's water polo, women's basketball, baseball and softball - a total of more than 100 home games for just $30! And, as the name suggests, the Season Ticket is the limited edition LMU Scarf. Call the LMU Ticket Office at 310-338-LION or go online today!